Rago Auctions

Glassmaker Amber Cowan is the third recipient of the Smithsonian Women’s Committee Delphi Award. Cowan will receive her Delphi Award from Kathy Sommerkamp, President of the Smithsonian Women’s Committee, at the 2023 Smithsonian Craft Show, to be held May 3 – 7 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.

Cowan has long been fascinated by the splendor of glassmaking. Her use of found glass pays homage in many ways to the history of American glass manufacturing. She reworks broken and discarded glass, repurposing vintage scraps left behind by 19th and 20th century American glass factories, to create original sculptures.  She also uses a combination of techniques including soft Venetian glass sculpting, flame-working, and glass blowing to create her one-of-a-kind sculptural glasswork.

Cowan received her master’s degree in glass and ceramics at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and has studied at the Corning Museum of Glass and Pilchuck Glass School. She has received numerous awards including the prestigious United States Artists Fellowship. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of The Museum of Art and Design in New York, The Toledo Museum of Art, and The RISD Museum.

ambercowan.com

Rago is pleased to include The Smithsonian Women’s Committee Visionary Benefit Auction within our Modern Design sale on May 12th. This special section features works created by past and present Smithsonian Visionary Artists and by the winners of the new Smithsonian Women’s Committee Delphi Award.

The Smithsonian Visionary Award, established in 2014, is presented annually to artists who are deemed by curators in the field to have risen to the pinnacle in the world of sculptural arts and design, who have works in major museums, and who have demonstrated distinction, creativity, artistry, and, of course, vision in his or her respective medium.  

Chunghi Choo and Mary Lee Hu, 2023 recipients of the Smithsonian Visionary Award, join the small but prestigious list of past recipients: David Ellsworth, Michael Hurwitz, Patti Warashina, Joyce J. Scott, Faith Ringgold, Dale Chihuly, Toots Zynsky, Wendell Castle, and Albert Paley.

Amber Cowan is the 2023 Delphi Artist. She joins past recipients Stephen Young Lee and Roberto Lugo in this exclusive  list of artists who are the recipients of this important award.

All lots in the Visionary Benefit Auction are of the primary market, unless otherwise indicated. The auction raises funds to support projects and initiatives across the Smithsonian institution. All works will be shipped directly from the artist or the gallery.